“Wind and disease are one in my hands. The wind that just struck you was certainly mixed with miasma. The peacock’s protection against the virus was indeed ineffective when it was still there—but once it is stripped away, this is the result.”
Pazuzu grinned.
Hayden could feel his body getting colder and colder, and he felt increasingly weak. His illness had caused him to develop a fever again.
Turning around, they saw that not only Hayden, but even the Great Ape Beast God summoned by the demi-humans had fallen. The plague spread through their bloodlines, and even the demi-humans of the Vajra tribe on the mountaintop were affected, falling into comas, fevers, vomiting, and losing their fighting ability.
At this point, Hayden had practically no fighting ability left. But he had to buy time, he absolutely had to buy time, until the decisive move to turn the tide arrived. Otherwise, everyone would be wiped out.
Without his fighting ability, and since Hayden couldn't transform into a super blond monkey, he could only rely on his words. So Hayden immediately said, "Wait, I surrender!"
He's not Karen. If it's about stalling for time to secure victory, Hayden would say anything!
However, upon hearing Hayden's words, Pazuzu glanced at the mountaintop and sneered again: "Idiot. Do you really think I don't know you're stalling for time?"
……Alas
"You think I don't know you're stalling for time, and that what you're stalling for is probably on that mountaintop?"
Pazuzu made a sarcastic remark and beckoned with his hand. A gust of wind immediately swept up Hayden and grabbed him. Then Pazuzu flapped his wings and pulled Hayden up the mountain.
The Windrider Tribe's subhumans had long since fled in terror. Only a mass of King Kong Tribe subhumans lay paralyzed on the ground, incapacitated, unconscious, feverish, or vomiting. Some of them, seeing Pazuzu fly towards them, struggled to fight, but Pazuzu glared at them and blew them all away. If it weren't for Angela's energy cycle providing regeneration to keep them alive, the King Kong Tribe's subhumans would have been wiped out in an instant.
In a short while, only Pazuzu, who was holding onto Hayden, and Angela, who was still singing under the apple tree, remained on the mountaintop.
Angela frowned as she saw Hayden being swept up by the storm, but her singing did not stop.
Pazuzu was clearly taken aback when he finally saw Angela.
"As expected, it's an ancient god!"
It dragged Hayden around the apple tree two or three times, and the more it looked, the clearer it became, yet the more confused it became.
Who could recognize Angela at first glance? Even the Peacock King could be mistaken, let alone Pazuzu. After looking around, it finally came to a conclusion that wasn't entirely wrong:
"This is the Old God who bestowed your power, and an Old God who possesses immense primordial power!"
That's not entirely wrong...
Pazuzu looked at the apple tree, then at the city's protective barrier surrounding the hill, and seemed to understand something:
"It was she who maintained the protective barrier of this mountain city, shielding you from the Mitra Group's typhoon sweeper! So that's it, this is the trump card you've been trying to use to buy time!"
Even Pazuzu trembled slightly after witnessing Angela's power firsthand. It didn't know exactly how strong Angela was, but it could at least see that if Angela hadn't been busy singing on the mountaintop to maintain the city's barrier and fend off the typhoon sweepers outside, and if Angela hadn't been too busy to come up and fight it herself, Pazuzu's victory would obviously not have been so easy.
“Old God, the life force within you is so abundant. Although I do not understand the affairs of your outer world, I presume that your original status was no less than that of a great god like the Peacock King. If you were to use this power to fight me, I am afraid I would lose.”
Pazuzu grinned and laughed again as she finished speaking.
"What a pity, what a pity. You idiot, you have such great power, yet you only care about wasting it protecting these useless trash, busy trying to withstand that Mithra typhoon outside! Even if I were to kill you right now, you wouldn't be able to resist. Because once the barrier collapses, those useless demi-humans and your divine messengers will die! This is truly laughable!"
Angela was busy singing to maintain her energy circulation, so of course she wouldn't talk back. But she still turned her gaze and glanced at Pazuzu with a rare look of contempt that Hayden had never seen on Angela's face.
Pazuzu also saw the disdainful look in its eyes. But it wasn't angry; instead, it became even more smug.
"You gods, whether old or new, are all so foolish! In order to devour people, you specially created these so-called rules, etiquette, and morality as tools, but in the end, you are bound by these tools. You have put the cart before the horse!"
"Look at me, on the other hand. I eat when I want to eat, kill when I want to kill, and sleep when I want to sleep. I have lived for thousands of years without dying. My fate is entirely in my own hands, and my great power belongs to myself—that's what it means to live!"
Hayden was caught by it, and with a fever, he was unable to resist. But upon hearing this, he vaguely understood something.
He had never really understood Pazuzu's thought process or its "motives." It killed and ate people everywhere to feed the plague hosts. If its purpose was the same as all diseases in the world—to ensure its own survival—then its specific behavior was obviously too frivolous and irresponsible towards its own life.
But as for whether it had any other purpose, Hayden hadn't noticed it before.
During his battle with Pazuzu, what Hayden found most puzzling was Pazuzu's line, "They all eat people, the Old Gods eat people with feudal rituals, the New Gods eat people with capital and finance, but how can they compare to me just chewing them up directly?" While this statement was incredibly mad, it also had a touch of cynical cynicism. Evil as it may be, deserving of death as it may be, it doesn't seem contradictory to say that this demon was a cynical madman who had seen through the ways of the world.
Actually, Hayden didn't really care about Pazuzu's inner world; he was definitely going to kill it anyway. But now that he was being held captive by it and listening to its smug words, he actually understood a little better.
However, Pazuzu hadn't finished speaking.
“I understand now. You’re stalling for time to give this ancient god a minute or two of free time so she can come out and deal with me.”
Actually, that's not entirely the case...
Although Hayden thought this, he naturally couldn't say it aloud. After Pazuzu finished speaking, he reached out and grabbed Hayden by the neck, lifting him high in the air, and then said to Angela:
“I can also sense the changes in the energy flow here. You need at least five more minutes before you can even spare a hand to deal with me. I, Pazuzu, love it when you guys seem to have hope, only to fall into despair again! So I'm going to rip this little idiot's head off right now!”
"Then I won't directly absorb your ancient god's life force, lest I be controlled by you. However, as long as I use your life force and the power of the typhoon sweeper to temper my supernatural abilities—from now on, I will be invincible, my fate will be in my own hands, not in the heavens!"
139: The strongest power in the world
To be honest, Hayden is a little scared now.
I wonder if Angela's scent can heal a head that's been ripped off?
If Hayden were in his White Wolf God form now, it would probably be possible. Those werewolf-transformed Russian mercenaries who were utterly destroyed could be fully restored, it just would take some time.
However, Hayden's previous beast-transformation spell was broken by Pazuzu, and he can't recast it now, so he doesn't possess that incredible regenerative ability. If his head really gets ripped off, only Angela probably knows whether Hayden will survive.
He might actually die because of this.
This isn't something a normal person would simply accept with a casual "oh." Especially since Hayden has been having such a good time lately, he really doesn't want to die.
A person contemplating suicide risks a life devoid of joy and hope, showing absolutely no courage. True courage lies in a normal person who, when faced with a decision that could literally cost them their head, knowing the potential death and suffering, still overcomes their fear and makes that choice.
However, upon closer reflection, it becomes clear that Pazuzu's greedy gaze and tone suggest it most likely wouldn't actually rip Hayden's head off. What utterly foolish act it is for a kidnapper to shoot and kill their hostage in front of the police!
So Hayden figured it out in three seconds and calmed down a bit.
But what should we do now?
What should you do when you are taken hostage?
...Now that things have come to this, the most important thing to do is probably not to cause any trouble for Angela.
Although Pazuzu was cunning and saw through at least half of Hayden's plans, half of them remained undetected. After all, there were some things Pazuzu simply couldn't possibly know.
But Hayden knew that if he could hold on for just a few more minutes, the situation would change dramatically.
How am I supposed to get through these next few minutes?
After hearing Pazuzu's threat, Angela glanced at it again, continuing to sing without stopping, but her voice had changed.
"Slow down, demon, slow down."
No wisdom can exist without caution.
"It should be known that hasty people often make mistakes,"
Those who make mistakes inevitably feel regret and sorrow.
"Though it does not have the sharp teeth of a lion,"
"Regret will also tear you apart—live and dead."
"Your misfortune is imminent, but you can still avoid it."
"Forget your pride—what do you have to be proud of?"
"Even if you are very strong,"
"The fear of the storm still gnaws at your throat and your heart."
"How can one find peace and freedom when one is constantly filled with anxiety?"
噫
Although she didn't utter a single swear word, it was the first time Hayden had ever seen Angela mock someone.
Pazuzu's expression darkened upon hearing Angela's taunts. But it still retorted with a cold laugh, "No matter how hard you try, I'm not stupid enough to step into your temple grounds and get beaten up."
Angela shook her head.
In the blink of an eye, Angela, still singing, her beautiful face showing no outward anger, suddenly unleashed a terrifying power! In a moment, with a single step, she had stepped out of the circle under the apple tree and swung her fist at Pazuzu!
This seemingly delicate doll-like girl, when standing still, resembles a lily, but when she moves, her power is more swift than thunder, as earth-shattering as a stone breaking through the sky, and unimaginably fast!
Moreover, although the singing continued, the energy circulation suddenly weakened as Angela stepped out of the [Temple] circle surrounding the apple tree. The typhoon sweeper, which had been firmly blocked by the city's barrier, immediately developed a crack, instantly pouring pollution down from the top of the barrier—but wasn't Pazuzu itself the first to bear the brunt of the impact, sitting atop the mountain?
A breach appeared in the barrier above, and a polluted storm poured down, heading straight for him. Angela threw a punch in front of him, without any fancy moves or techniques, yet the immense force was like the collapse of the heavens and the earth, as if it could infinitely magnify and crush the entire world.
Not to mention Pazuzu, even Hayden didn't expect Angela to suddenly pull such a stunt! In an instant, the situation was reversed, and Pazuzu was attacked from both sides, unable to defend both sides!
This situation is already a decisive defeat!
The polluted winds swept directly towards Pazuzu, its fear of this pollution already proven during their previous battle. Angela's fist was even more formidable; even a Vajrapani god could be killed with a single blow, so no matter how powerful a demon was, it couldn't afford to be complacent. With these two forces attacking simultaneously, how could even an ancient demon king not be defeated?
However, in the next instant, Hayden saw something impossible.
Seeing two invincible forces attacking at the same time, Pazuzu threw away the troublesome Hayden in its hands, straightened its chest, and let the storm hit it, while also letting Angela punch it!
The forces of death and life collided at that moment, exploding within Pazuzu's body. Yet it did not die. The two forces ground against each other within it, instead urging and merging into its energy, making it taller, larger, and stronger, its power continuously increasing—within just a few seconds, it even faintly possessed a divine aura!
How can this be! ?
This great demon is actually using Angela's power and the typhoon sweeper's power to temper and strengthen itself!?
Even Hayden, a well-traveled magician skilled in harnessing various forces, was astonished by this sight: "Holy crap! This is impossible!?"
What exactly is Pazuzu doing now?
Hayden actually understood it. He had something similar in his possession, and he himself had done similar things before. But he still thought it was impossible.
If it's just about enduring the enemy's magical attacks, harmonizing with their magic, and absorbing and utilizing it, then Hayden has done things like that before.
When he first dealt with the students of [Bo Xun] last year, Hayden had taken their arcane spells and converted them into riot control spells to throw back at them—but how useless were those students? They were just using apps on their phones to cast small spells; they had very little magic power, and their spells were too standard and rigid, easy to control.
Moreover, Hayden didn't directly absorb other people's magic into his own body back then; instead, he used the scepter as a medium to carry and convert magic.
However, Pazuzu is no longer simply absorbing and utilizing synchronized magic.
It bears the deadly onslaught of the pollution typhoon and is also directly subjected to the life force attack of Angela. What is it doing?
Isn't this the state of balance and unity between life, death, yin and yang?
This is precisely at the end of the Yin-Yang spiral, where one comprehends the mystery of the intersection of life and death, and the ritual of the harmonious sublimation of Yin and Yang!
This kind of magic, very ancient and crazy magic, is just like primitive wish-making magic, so dangerous that no one would use it.
"There's no way this could possibly succeed!?"
Pazuzu, who was gathering and absorbing the two energies to counteract each other and strengthen itself, burst into laughter upon hearing Hayden's words: "Idiot! Saying such things shows you don't understand the true power of magic! True magic is something that can be done at will. You city dwellers who limit yourselves like this are only fit to eat shit!"
Wow
Although Hayden never thought there was anything wrong with egoism, he was still taken aback when he heard the devil say such things to him.
I was stunned, somewhat fearful, and even a little ashamed!
Hayden still isn't entirely certain why Pazuzu is afraid of arcane industrial pollution, but he's at least certain that absorbing it would be extremely dangerous for it. Even if Pazuzu is an ancient demon lord, this is practically suicidal.
And it doesn't actually have to do that.
Pazuzu could have chosen to give up, abandon Hayden and run away, no longer entangled with Angela, instead of forcing her way through this method that was even more dangerous than a nine-out-of-ten chance of death.
But then again, didn't Hayden do the same thing?
It was precisely because Pazuzu said what Hayden had said and done what he had done last year that Hayden was now speechless and suddenly realized what was happening.
Pazuzu's current actions are essentially the same as Hayden's desperate attempt last year to summon Angela's soul using the Primal Wish Technique. It's like choosing to risk everything in a situation where you could give up, using a method with a one in ten thousand chance of success, completely disregarding your own life.
The only difference between Pazuzu and Hayden was that Hayden was drunk, while Pazuzu was completely sober, or at least made the decision freely. The scene before him, this miracle comparable to a wish-granting spell, finally made Hayden understand.
Hayden can now at least partially understand this mad demon, its thought process, its thought logic.
Because Hayden in the past and Pazuzu in the present actually share a very similar idea.
Hayden, too, once wanted no constraints; Hayden, too, once craved complete freedom; Hayden, too, once gave up, recklessly risking his life on things with a one-in-a-million chance of success that he could have avoided. In reality, the only difference between them was what they ultimately wanted.
Ironically, the situation is now extremely critical. Pazuzu is using the power of life, death, yin and yang to become stronger and stronger, bigger and bigger, bigger and bigger, bigger and bigger than hopeless.
However, it was at this very moment that Hayden observed Pazuzu's transcendence of life, death, yin and yang, and comprehended and understood his thoughts:
Pazuzu doesn't want to be a "god," nor does it want to be a part of the social power structure—it wants to be a completely free "immortal," transcending life and death and all constraints!
However, this great demon didn't want the traditional concept of carefree living; it wanted unlimited freedom. It wanted the freedom to kill and eat people at will—a freedom that could only be described with terms like "demon immortal" or "evil immortal."
This mad, evil immortal who doesn't even value his own life and lives a carefree life must be killed by Hayden no matter what. That would be good for the world and its people.
But how do you kill it?
Hayden certainly had a plan. Otherwise, why had he been stalling for time? Now he figured the time was almost up, but so many unexpected things had happened. What should he do?
Just as Hayden was feeling so worried, Angela suddenly laughed.